Last week, a cadre of journalists were invited to visit the set of the upcoming Justice League film in London. The theme of the visit, most of the reporters agree, was that audiences can expect something quite different from the grim, bleak world of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in this film. In other words, producers Deborah and Zack Snyder decided to draw back the curtain for some of their harshest critics, in hopes that film writers would like what they saw and spread the good word that the Snyders have learned from their mistakes—and are ready to move on.

The most concrete bit of news—outside a new look at Ben Affleck’sflashy Batmobile—is that Willem Dafoe will be playing Vulko, an advisor to Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, in the film. In other words, Dafoe will be playing against villainous type. And though Jesse Eisenberg will return in some smaller capacity as Lex Luthor, the true villain of the piece—a character called Steppenwolf—has yet to be cast. As part of the studio’s overall effort to put a positive spin on this gritty superhero franchise, the emphasis so far seems to be on the film showing off superfriends rather than foes.

That friendliness message was driven home the hardest by the finished scene the Justice League producers opted to show journalists. As Uproxx’s Mike Ryan pointed out, the first scene to come out of Batman v Superman was a pitch-black encounter between the titular superhero in which Ben Affleck growls, “Do you bleed? . . . You will.” In the first Justice League scene shown to press, it’s jokes, not menace, that get the spotlight.

Vulture’sKyle Buchanan thoughtfully transcribed the scene into three pages of screenplay that show Ezra Miller’s wisecracking Flash meeting Affleck’s Bruce Wayne. While he was still doing press for the embattled Batman v Superman, Zack Snyder promised that Miller’s Flash would be “one of the things that lightens” the Justice League. He wasn’t kidding: there are more jokes in this one scene than in the entirety of Batman v Superman. And for those who feel like the Warner Bros. cinematic universe could stand to learn a thing or two from the popular television version of The Flash, this is a promising sign.

But what about the DC comics fans who liked Batman v Superman (they exist!) and don’t want to see the franchise become more like the sunnier world of Marvel? Well, they might not enjoy what comes next. Deborah Snyder told Buchanan that “every film is a learning experience.” Asked for her takeaways from Batman v Superman, Snyder replied, “The main thing we learned, I think: people don’t like to see their heroes deconstructed.” Snyder went as far as to promise Justice League would be a “totally different movie.”

And the official synopsis just released by Warner Bros. works hard to support that claim:

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s
selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana
Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder
Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand
against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this
unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg,
and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an
assault of catastrophic proportions.

This Batman, the synopsis promises, is a hopeful one. But can we say the same about the prospects of Justice League? It’s far too early to tell. Still, some cautious optimism may be warranted—and caution, it seems, is the watchword at Warner Bros. as well. The Justice League films, like the Marvel’s Infinity War, were originally pitched as unfolding in two parts. But Deborah Snyder has confirmed that, for now, they’re just concentrating on making oneJustice League movie.

With a completed Wonder Woman movie, and standalone installments for the Flash, Aquaman, and Batman still very much on track, it’s perhaps going too far to say that Warner Bros. is less invested in this franchise than it was before Batman v Superman bowed. But after bringing in first Ben Affleck and then Geoff Johns as producers, then switching gears to a “wait and see” attitude with regard to whether there'll be another Justice League installment, it looks like this time, Zack Snyder will have to prove himself before he’s given free reign over the world’s most famous comic-book characters again.